I'm not debating the fact that you don't like the location of the tach, but I'm saying there is a reason Honda put it there, because we don't really need it to be anywhere else.

 

Kenchan,
Where can you get the clearbra material? Not that I need it now, but it's good info to have.

storm88000,
After finally seeing a couple RHD Fit dashes, I'm 99.44% certain that the RHD and LHD dashes are identical. The design went in to the RHD dashes, and we're just making do with a part that was built for the other side of the car. Makes much more sense that way, but I'm sure to keep costs down on a low-volume (in the USDM) car. I'm sure they didn't place it there on purpose to meet our LHD needs. Maybe when they start making them here, we'll get a proper dash. In the mean time, there's not much I can do about it until I find a spare dash cluster and can see what's involved in a swap. Let's call this one closed...

 

Wow, $170 installed?! I think I would've sworn off Honda for my next car if I had actually had it installed by the dealership and paid that much. I was tempted to do so, but the parts department was closed when I took delivery of my car... thank goodness! I, too, purchased mine for about $35 via one of the vendors here.

Yeah, the rear bumper overhang on my WRX wagon was pretty big, so I tended to lean on it and set stuff on it all the time, so it was really useful. After having the car for a few weeks, I agree that I probably won't be putting much on the rear bumper at all, and definitely not if I ever do the FE/RE JDM conversions.

-Mike

 

hey, you have a fit!? did you get rid of the wagon?

Erin

 

you can get the clear bra from lamin-x.com. im thinking about ordering the whole front end lamin-x from them when i get my car painted and get new s2k retrofit headlights.

 

Hey Erin,

Yep, payments, insurance, and gas were getting the better of me, so I saved up and traded it in and got into my Fit. Doesn't have the get-up-and-go of the WRX (obviously), but I have no regrets. This thing's a blast!

-Mike

 

Yeah, it wasn't pretty. We learned that we got bent over pretty hard when we had the cargo cover installed on our Pilot, and then found out that we could have purchased it for less than half the cost online. I did my research and ended up paying about $120 including shipping for the carpet floormats and the applique. Decided against the cargo cover for the Fit because the tint and tiny windows make almost anything in the hatch invisible. "My Dealer" wanted nearly $300 for just the mats, another $300 for the cargo cover, and something like $700 for the plastic shield thing on half the hood (???) and the mirrors. Sorry, I'll pass on that great deal, thanks.

And thanks for the link to lamin-x, SD_MR_FIT! If they have something to cover the WHOLE hood, I may still do that on my own, but half the hood is pointless on a hood this short and steep.

 

Besides making a quick buck, I don't understand the mentality of dealerships milking buyers like this. While it *is* our responsibility as consumers to do the necessary research on all purchases, at the same time, finding out afterwards that you were charged 2x, 3x, sometimes 4x+ more on an item almost guarantees that you'll never shop there again, and the negative "press" you'll receive online and w/ friends/families can't help.

I guess if you're a huge dealership, this doesn't matter, since one or ten customers won't make any difference, but man, I wish there would be a fundamental shift in the way cars are sold.

-Mike

 

i agree. my fit was already tinted(common practice here in az.). i went thru fleet and paid cash for the car, but asked how much they were charging for the tint...$299!! haha. ended up charging me $150 for it, and i'm sure they still made out.

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that on the topic of what I don't like about my Fit, the buying experinece was right up there, too. Found the car/color/content I wanted online, and told the fleet salesphag that I wanted NOTHING on the car. It's common around here to find any number of cars on the lot, but they've all been LOADED with crap to jack up the price - want a Fit for $19,900? They're out there. All I wanted was the car, no add-on anything, just the car - I knew I was going to get the accessories later. If they would work with me on the prices, I might get some stuff, but only if they had it in stock that day and could install it right then. 4.5 hours later, I left the dealership with just the car, but it was a beating. At no point were they NOT trying to pressure me in to buying SOMETHING. The only perk of the day was thier "customer service specialist", who was a cute little thing with a great rack pushed up high in her low-cut blouse. She tried really hard to convince me that the new car I was about to buy was a piece of crap that needed all this protection junk. She lost interest pretty quickly when I told her the prices I could get the same parts for.

I'll never set foot in that dealership again.

 

so far with the 2008 sport....definitely not having the arm rest when the jdm one has it. the dead pedal issue. the weak FM signal (maybe the wire is loose when they installed the advance alarm system). wish there was more low end torque during 1st and 2nd gear. i shift before 3k rpm. it cruises along in 3rd and 4th pretty well. having a 6th gear would be nice since at 5th gear it right at 3k rpm when you're crusing at 65mph. wish the turning ratio was alot better when flipping a Biatch... when spotting a metering space in the city. otherwise.... it might last 15 years like my crxS... hopefully.....

 

Have you considered an external tach? I still really don't think it's necessary but that'd probably be your only option since the JDM dashes aren't plug and play with ours. But you really only have 3 gears you'll be using in some spirited backroad driving. Even then I mostly just stay in 3rd and 4th and the only time I'd have to look at my tach is to see if I think I'd benefit from 2nd gear and most of the time I don't.

 

I don't like how the water drips down from my car in the morning when I make a sudden stop at a red light. Also, It's hard for me to see the curb sometimes. I'm surprised I've kept the curb rashing down to a minimum. Also, the pillars are a pretty bad blind spot. It's hard to see far objects at 11'o clock sometimes. Or maybe I need to change my seating position. I dunno.

 

the fit doesn't have a temperature gauge. in case its over heating or something

 

i don't like how jealous some of my friends are of my FIT. They constantly ask me the same questions over and over again about the features. =P

 

after a month of ownership, the only things that are not to my perfect
liking are:

1. no ambient temp gauge (already mentioned, will get aftermarket)
2. tach on the left side of cluster and small (already mentioned)
3. no deadpedal (already fixed using zeta)
4. no factory toe adjustment on the rear (toes in quite a bit when lowered)

these are all minor to me.

 

--was making me think--
a bunch of people are mentioning this= i dont think it would work too well-
i am visualizing it and wouldnt number 0 be on top and 8k be on the bottom?
i dont think that would be as effective as 0 being on the bottom and 8 on the top -- like starting 11 oclock and going down to 5 or 6 pm...?
am i making sense?
its the same reason y they dont make the tach digital bc you dont have a good enough image of how hard the engine is working when you just see a number...

 

you can get strips of that stuff at Griot's.

Car Care, Detail Supplies, Garage Organization, Car Accessories - Griot's Garage 800-345-5789

 

i dont know wth you're talking about, but the tach should be in the
dead center of the cluster with the speedo on the side.

 

NEVER MIND

im an ass i was thinking all you people wanted it on the right side....


never mind - yes i agree performance minded wise it should be in the middle